Jagad Guru Chris Butler

Because the word “guru” means teacher, it is often used to refer to teachers of all kinds—be they teachers of music, ayurvedic medicine, cooking, etc. The title “Jagad Guru” is normally used to refer to yoga masters who have disciples all around the world from different places, nationalities, faiths, etc. However, in the deepest sense, “Jagad Guru” means a yoga master whose teachings are relevant to and can be applied in the personal lives of every person—regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, or sect. (“Guru” means servant; “guru” does not mean master. “Jagad Guru” refers to a person who sees himself as a servant of all mankind, not a particular race, religion, or nation.)

The chief historical proponent of such “I am God”ism philosophy was Sripad Shankaracharya. Shankaracharya lived and preached throughout India in the eighth century. The preaching of Shankaracharya and his followers was so strong that, practically speaking, it drove Buddhism out of India. Today, throughout India and the world, Shankaracharya’s teachings (or slight variations of them) are still having a tremendous influence on people.

In Calcutta, India, for example, we can see the ridiculous sight of a starving, sore-infested man meditating on the side of the road: “I am God. I am God.” In America and Europe, you’ll find many so-called yogis and gurus who are directly or indirectly in Shankaracharya’s line of “I am God” ism teachers.

Meditate on your Self. Honor and worship your own Self. Kneel to your Self, because the supreme reality, the highest truth lives within you as you.*

Obviously, such an “I am God”ist or impersonalist can be very dangerous to others and society. Many of these “I am God”ists end up as the most extreme of all hedonists—having illicit sex with their disciples, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking, eating meat, and engaging in all kinds of debauchery. They declare that they can do so without being contaminated karmically because they are so “spiritually advanced.” At the moment, the Western world (as well as India) is crawling with such charlatans.Jagad Guru Chris Butler – Science of Identity Foundation